Birthday Boy

My little man Trevor turns 2 today. Although it feels like we've had a two year old for awhile, now it's official. I never thought having a little boy could be so much fun. He is ALL boy. Whenever I'm on the floor changing a diaper or just going to sit down I get tackled by Trevor. He loves the outdoors, climbing, running (most of the time away from me) and like most boys, eating. He is also completely fearless... he continues to scare Chris and I with his daring personality. His vocabulary is improving and he is speaking in short sentences! Oh yes and he loves trains. I mean LOVES! For his party tomorrow it will be all trains.

What a blessing Trevor is to me and our family. I can't imagine life without active trev-man around. He keeps me on my toes. I am eager to see what kind of man he will turn into. I don't think we are ever going to need to motivate Trevor for life. He is passionate and determined. Above all it is my deepest desire that Trevor comes to know the Lord and have an intimate relationship with his Savior. Chris and I pray for his soul daily!

Here are some of my favorites of Trevor from the year.

Trevor driving a car
Trevor in Carlsbad CA last July
One of his favorite things to say is "Oh No" He clasps his hands to his face as he says it
Did I forget to mention that he also likes to make messes and get into trouble when I'm not watching. Here's this weeks latest... I went to get Rylee from her room and he pushed a chair over to the counter and dumped out 500+ small shapes that I was using for Taylor's preschool. When I came back he was making an "angel" with his body and eating the shapes!

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines friends and family! Let the fun begin. Valentine prep began yesterday. Taylor and I made valentine heart shaped Rice Krispy's for her friends and Nana came over and helped her make little cards. This morning we woke up and had a nice peaceful breakfast all together. What a blessing that was! We ate eggs and heart shaped blueberry pancakes. A tradition that began a few years back. I think this day helps to reinforce to our children that as Christians we live to love and serve others. Over breakfast we talked about how we can only love because God first loved us by sending his son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins!

After breakfast Chris brought out his computer, I assumed he was going to start checking his e-mails but instead he pulled up this blog post for me to read:
Happy Valentines Day Tara

Thank you honey for the meaningful letter! I treasure them & you and look forward to our date tonight!

“If every two were one then surely we.
If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;
If every wife were happy in a man,
Compare with me, ye women, if ye can.
I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is sure that rivers cannot quench,
Nor aught but love from thee give recompense.
Thy love is such I can no way repay,
The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
Then while we live, in love let’s so persevere
That when we live no more, we may live ever.”
poem by Anne Bradstreet

Have fun treasuring the loved ones in your life today! Pictures from the day to come.

How Far Taylor has come

We got a progress report from Taylor's preschool teacher last week. I and she was amazed by how far she has come. Last October she knew every letter except "G". Now she not only knows every letter but every sound and is reading four to five letter words on her own. In October she could count to 13 skipped 14 and then continued on to 17. Now she can count to 30 and up to fifty if I prompt her at every number change. i.e. 40, then 50. The report continued on about what a joy she is in class and how much Taylor loves to learn. It was exciting to see her growth. I am begining a phonics based reading program with Taylor this week called Sing, Spell, Read and Write. I'm eager to see how this is going to increase her ability to read!

Not So Funny, Funny Moment

Sunday mornings are always adventurous. Chris, being a pastor, is usually up and out early. So I have learned how to get myself and three kids out and ready by 9:30. Usually it means I'm up and ready before the kids awake at 6:30. I've even learned that packing the diaper bags and having their clothes laid out the night before helps the process a lot. However, even when I do all of this some challenges can still present themselves. Take yesterday for example. Taylor and Trevor were having a few too many squabbles and it was preventing me from getting Rylee dressed. So I put Taylor in her room and Trevor in his for a few moments of peace. Ten minutes later I hear Trevor banging on the door. I open the door to find poop all over his hands, body and yes the door and surrounding wall! It was a very not so funny, funny moment.

Perhaps even funnier was Chris' response.... I walk into the service and up to the front to sit next to Chris. Worship had already begun. He leans over and whispers hello in my ear and asks how the morning went. I say pretty good but Trevor got into his poop and smeared it on his door and wall. Chris whipsers back "oh man, I'm sorry" and asks "You did clean it up before you came right?"

In telling this story to a few of my friends I am aware of God's grace in how much worse it could've been!

Ready For Kids Test

My friend sent me this forward today and I thought it was hilarous! I can relate to the Grocery store test and the last one is a riot!


Are you considering having children? To determine whether you are truly prepared for the experience, we suggest you take this set of simple tests...

MESS TEST:

Smear peanut butter on the sofa and curtains. Now rub your hands in the wet flower bed and rub on the walls. Cover the stains with crayons. Place a fish stick behind the couch and leave it there all summer.

TOY TEST:

Obtain a 55-gallon box of Legos. (If Legos are not available, you may substitute roofing tacks or broken bottles.) Have a friend spread them all over the house. Put on a blindfold. Try to walk to the bathroom or kitchen. Do not scream (this could wake a child at night).

GROCERY STORE TEST:

Borrow one or two small animals (goats are best) and take them with you as you shop at the grocery store. Always keep them in sight and pay for anything they eat or damage.

DRESSING TEST:

Obtain one large, unhappy, live octopus. Stuff into a small net bag making sure that all arms stay inside.

FEEDING TEST:

Obtain a large plastic milk jug. Fill halfway with water. Suspend from the ceiling with a stout cord. Start the jug swinging. Try to insert spoonfuls of soggy cereal (such as Fruit Loops or Cheerios) into the mouth of the jug while pretending to be an airplane. Now dump the contents of the jug on the floor.

NIGHT TEST:

Prepare by obtaining a small cloth bag and fill it with 8 to 12 pounds of sand. Soak it thoroughly in water. At 8:00 PM begin to waltz and hum with the bag until 9:00 PM. Lay down your bag and set your alarm for 10:00 PM. Get up, pick up your bag, and sing every song you have ever heard. Make up about a dozen more and sing these too until 4:00 AM. Set alarm for 5:00 AM. Get up and make breakfast. Keep this up for five years. Look cheerful.

PHYSICAL TEST (WOMEN)

Obtain a large beanbag chair and attach it to the front of your clothes. Leave it there for 9 months. Now remove 10% of the beans.

PHYSICAL TEST (MEN):

Go to the nearest drug store. Set your wallet on the counter. Ask the clerk to help himself. Now proceed to the nearest food store. Go to the head office and arrange for your paycheck to be directly deposited to the store. Purchase a newspaper. Go home and read it quietly for the last time.

FINAL ASSIGNMENT:

Find a couple who already have a small child. Lecture them on how they can improve their discipline, patience, tolerance, toilet training, and child's table manners. Suggest many ways they can improve. Emphasize to them that they should never allow their children to run riot. Enjoy this experience. It will be the last time you will have all the answers.

There's always next year...

We had a lot of fun at my parents house watching the game last night. It's not often that your husband's favorite team makes it into the superbowl. In this case it's been since he was nine. So I wanted to make sure it was memorable. Thankfully the kids already had their bears attire from October. So we had the cheerleader and the quaterback. I made a little onsie for Rylee that said "My 1st superbowl Go Bears!" and bought myself a bears shirt. I even ordered Chris a matching Urlacher jeresey to go with Trevor's but unfortunately Ebay didn't get it here in time.





Taylor and I made this cake to eat at halftime. I found the idea on a couple of different websites and kind of just morphed them together.




It was an amazing first quarter... But unfortunately it went downhill from there. You'll hear us say things like " At least they got there", "What an amazing season", "Manning deserves a ring" and we even hope, "They'll be back again next year". But as the game ended this is how we really felt:

Train God

If you want to get into Trevor's world you need to speak train. The other day I was teaching Trevor about God and I said Trevor who made you? No Answer. I tell him, "God made you Trevor". To which he replied "babble,babble,TRAIN". Yes Trevor God made Trains. He repeats what I said " God made trains". Great Trevor so who made Trains? He replies " Train God!"

Out of Town Blues

Sorry I haven't completely disappeared... Chris just returned from a three day trip. I find when he's gone it's near impossible to find time to blog. But that's not the only reason I don't blog. You won't find me blogging about my husband leaving town here. It could be because I'm paranoid. There is no way I'm annoucing to the crazy internet people out there that my husband is out of town. So there is that and also I just don't do well being alone. And until I convince Chris of our need for a really big black dog I don't think I'll ever like it. I can quote scriptures all night long and still in the end, without the help of tylenol PM, I just can't sleep. I took the easy way out for most of Chris' travel. Packed my bags and headed off to daddy and mommy's house. Even with two kids! But that's a little harder now with three so I have had to face the past couple ones alone. A couple of months ago when Chris left town for five nights, the last night went something like this:

I had the Pastor's wives over for dinner and dessert. We hung out late into the night and somehow the topic of one of our friends who got robbed while her husband was out of town came up. Seriously. Now these wives are more Godly and more expereinced than I am. None of them struggle at night with their husbands being out of town. They can even sleep without Tylenol PM. I informed these more Godly than I am women that this conversation wasn't serving me and they all had to stay the night but they continued on and eventually left me. Alone. With my thoughts. I called Chris to say goodnight and confessed to him that I battling fear. He assured me, prayed for me and ended with something about what are the odds really honey? I hung up full of faith, taking my tylenol pm of course, and went to do my nightly check of all the doors and windows before I turned in. I went to the front door, touched the door and everything went pitch black. My house, all the other houses around me, every street light outside went black. Ok so it was only for like five seconds dad (it happened to them too) but it was enough to make my heart drop and I knew that there was NO WAY I was going to be sleeping alone tonight. So I go the phone to call my dad of course, and the line is dead. Completely dead. I start to think great, that's it, "they" cut my phone line and will be in any minute and my husband's famous last words will be "What are the odds honey". Well genius mode kicked in and I checked my computer and thankfully we had a connection there. So I looked at Instant Message to see if anyone we knew was on. Chris' twin brother in Washington was on and I sent him a message saying " Call Chris now please and tell him to call my parents and tell them to come over!!" HAHA, it worked! My dad and mom were to the rescue again and my wonderful mom brought her pillow and stayed the night! I've never been so thankful to have my husband home.

Now thankfully nothing that traumatic happened this time and after five nights alone two feels like a walk in the park. I did however resort to waking up my almost five year old and bringing her into our bed at 10:00 at night. It worked. Taylor, her doll named Taylor and I all slept great. She woke up the next morning and said

" Mommy I woke up in your bed".

" Yes honey mommy came and got you last night."

She replies " Hey that's just like when you were little and you used to sneak into Uncle Ryan's room and wake him up so he'd come sleep in your room too"

wondering how she remembers this small detail that once came up in a conversation... " Yes Taylor. Thank you showing me that nothing has changed since I was six"

Baby Daukas Hair

Our kids have very similar features, especially when they are babies. The cute button nose, big blue eyes, full lips and what has affectionately been called "crazy daukas hair" by people at church. Today wasn't a great hair day for Rylee. I think it' so cute though that I've refused (a.k.a. haven't had time) to fix it. Double click the picture to get a better view.

"Keep the bourbon away from the child dude"

Going to the grocery store is rarely uneventful. Today was no exception. I usually roll in disheveled, praying I don't run into anyone. It's a good day if my kids hair has been brushed, let alone mine. Today wasn't a good day, not only that, but Trevor is in serious need of a haircut. To keep in step with Rylee's schedule, grocery days usually happen early. We begin our trip with Rylee dangling in the baby bjorn, Trevor in the front seat of the cart and Taylor trying her best to keep up with mommy. Halfway through the trip I notice that rylee has stolen my list and is now eating it. Little pieces of paper are coming out of her mouth. Later on we take an unfortunate turn down an ailse that has Thomas the Train cups and Trevor, of course, spots them a mile away. He begins shouting "TRAINS, TRAINS. PHULEESE THOMAS THE TRAIN". Now normally I'd say no and break out the pacifier to try to muffle his screams. But the tantrums began an ailse earlier when he spotted crackers. He is onto my pacifier trick and threw it on the ground. So now I'm weighing out the lesser of two evils. Dirty pacifier vs. spending ten bucks on Thomas the Train cups. Thankfully we were about done so I said no, wiped the pacifier with a wipe and went really fast to the checkout lane. The fun doesn't stop there... I'm about finished unloading all the items from the cart and I look up to see the bagger putting my bags into a different cart. I nicely ask if he wouldn't mind putting them in my cart because I am unable to move my son without undoing my daughter and can't push two carts out. He just looks at me and starts moving the bags. I am swiping my card and notice that Trevor is eating a green onion. The bagger has put the bag of green onions next to Trevor. I move the bag, go back to the paying option, and again another bag next to Trevor. This time it's a bottle of bourbon I bought for a recipe I am making this week. ( just thought I should clarify). Before I could say anything the guy at the check out stand looks at the bagger and says " Keep the bourbon away from the child dude". I hand him the bag and say "thanks dude".
Oh how I await the day when Fry's offers up grocery delivery!

We have a roller!

That's right, Rylee finally figured out how to roll from her back to her stomach today. It's something she's been so close to doing all week. Yesterday she discovered her feet and she loves them. She sucks on her toes and grabs them and squeals. It's so cute. The new discovery I think helped her finally figure out how to roll. She grabed her feet and held on as she rolled to the side and the rest is history :-) Three kids and it's still so exciting to watch your baby roll over for the first time!! Now she'll know how to get back over in the middle of the night. For the past month she has been waking herself up by rolling from her stomach to her back and gets mad that she can't get back over to her stomach.

Bears Are Going To The Super Bowl!

This year I have been intentionally getting more into football because it is something my husband LOVES. He knows I do better if I can get into a team so of course I adopted his favorite team "DA Bears". Little did I or he know that this would be there year they would go all the way to the super bowl. It's been 21 years since they've made it that far! It was an exciting day. Trevor, in keeping with tradition, sported his bears jersey again today. We are trying to get him into football but the conversation went something like this. "Trevor, say GO BEARS." Trevor would reply " Trains". Trevor say "HUT,HUT" Trevor again "Train track". Oh well he has plenty of time to grow into loving football like his daddy.

Rylee Five Month photos

Sweet Rylee turns five months today. If you are wondering why she is wearing a diaper in all of these photo's it's because poor girl throws up all day long. I can go though five to six outfits for her a day, including my own set of clothes. This makes every day laundry day :-) The dr. tells me this is normal but I have a hard time seeing how throwing up your food four to five times after every meal is normal. But even while throwing up she is still the sweetest thing. She just waits for someone to talk to her or smile at her and then she breaks out with the cutest smiles and squeals. She isn't rolling everywhere like Trevor was at this age yet. But her stomach and head mucles are very strong. She's close to sitting up and when on her stomach she can bring her legs up under her and push up. She is a stomach sleeper and at night I put her on one side of the crib and by morning she's pushed herself up to the top of the crib and oftentimes turned around. I'm bracing myself for change in the coming months.

God, My Helper

We are in a season of life that feels like I am in constant need of help. Rylee appears to be losing her third nap which has made dinner hour chaotic and Trevor has been waking at 5:00am tired and cranky not wanting to go back to bed. It feels like I begin my days tired and desperate and end them tired and desperate and everything in between is a fight for faith. I read this entry a few days ago and my soul has been feasting on it ever since.

This morning let us hear the Lord Jesus speak to each one of us:" I will help you." "it is but a small thing for Me, your God, to help you. Consider what I have done already. What! No help you? Why, I bought you with My blood. What! Not help you? I have died for you; and if I have done the greater, will I not do the less? Help you! It is the least thing I will ever do for you; I have done more, and will do more. Before the world began I chose you. I made the covenant for you. I laid aside My glory and became a man for you, I gave up My life for you; and if I did all this, I will surely help you now. In helping you, I am giving you what I have bought for you already. If you had need of a thousand times as much help, I would give it to you; you require little compared with what I am ready to give. It is much for you to need, but it is nothing for me to bestore. Help you? Fear not! If there were an ant at the door of your granary asking for help, it would not ruin you to give him a handful of your wheat; and you are nothing but a tiny insect at the door of My all sufficency. I will help you" O my soul, is this not enough? Do you need more strength than the omnipotence of the united Trinity? Do you want more wisdom than exists in the Father, more love than displays itself in the Son, or more power than is manifest in the influences of the Spirit? Bring here your empy pitcher! Surely this well will fill it. Hurry, gather up your wants, and bring them here- your emptiness, your woes, your need. Behold, this river of God is full for you supply; what else can you desire? Go forth, my soul, in this your might. The Eternal God is your helper!

Morning and Evening Spurgeon; January 16th

I love how gospel centered these words are. If Christ has died for me how can he not help me in such smaller matters of my day to day life.
What an amazing truth and thought. The Eternal God is MY helper!

Go Bears

What a great game that was!